Monday, March 25, 2024
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Metsä Group with the assistance of ANDRITZ, is all set to construct a demo plant for lignin refining in connection with its Äänekoski bioproduct mill. ANDRITZ will be supplying the needed equipment. The construction will begin in summer 2024, and the demo plant will be completed in late 2025. The plant’s daily capacity will be two tones of the lignin product.
Lignin is a substance in wood that binds wood fibres together. In pulp production, lignin is separated
from the fibres into black liquor in the chemical cycle and used as bioenergy. Lignin could also be used
in chemical and material applications.
Metsä Group and ANDRITZ will focus on developing the production process of the new lignin product
and its integration with the bioproduct mill, as well as the product properties suitable for various end
uses. The demo plant project also involves Dow, a leading material science company, which will
develop high-performance bio-dispersant plasticizers for concrete and gypsum applications, based on
the lignin product produced at the plant.
“Our goal is to efficiently use the side streams of pulp production and ensure they produce the greatest possible added value. We want to develop new products made from renewable natural resources that can replace fossil-based raw materials and products,” says Ismo Nousiainen, CEO of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group.
ANDRITZ has been developing lignin recovery and modification technology concepts as part of its initiative to enable pulp mills to convert side streams into value-added products. Kari Tuominen, CEO
& President of ANDRITZ Oy, states: “We are thrilled to be able to test this technology in continuous
process conditions at the Äänekoski bioproduct mill. In addition to validating markets for the new lignin
product, the demo scale gives us valuable insights for integrating the LigniOx process into a
bioproduct mill and scaling it up for industrial use.”
“At Dow, we are committed to collaborating with stakeholders to innovate and bring more sustainable
solutions to the market,” says Raquel Fortes, Global Business Director of Dow Construction
Chemicals. “This new technology would further expand Dow’s bio-based product offerings to meet the
future needs of the building and construction industry.”
In a pilot-scale EU project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Metsä Group,
ANDRITZ and Dow have already demonstrated the suitability of modified lignin as a replacement for
fossil-based chemicals in concrete production.
Read more news on Metsä Group
Tags: Andritz, wood and panel, woodworking, woodworking and manufacturing, woodworking industry, woodworking UK
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